New York Daily News Writer Wants Michael Jordan To Do Something About Sneaker Violence

It's no secret that violence over sneakers is a reality in sneaker culture. Sports Illustrated covered the phenomenon back in 1990, with the magazine's cover story "Your Sneakers or Your Life."

But has it come time for the sneaker brands to do something more about it? New York Daily News online editor Bernie Augustine thinks so.

The writer published an opinion piece citing brawls that occurred last weekend in California over the release of the "Gamma Blue" Air Jordan XIs. Although no deaths were reported over the sneakers this year, Augustine believes that Michael Jordan himself should get involved with how his sneakers are sold.

He writes: "Jordan undoubtedly wields incredible power within Nike, and if he said he was tired of seeing his namesake on the nightly news over video of brawls at malls across the country, the sneaker giant would certainly accommodate him."

Augustine also reached out to the brand about changing their sales strategy to only sell major retro releases exclusively online, in order to curb violence over sneakers at stores. He got the following response from a Jordan Brand rep: "Consumer safety is of paramount important to us. We continue to work with our retail partners to share best practices and refine our launch process to improve the buying experience for our consumers. We encourage people wishing to purchase our products to do so in a respectful manner.”